What’s your fix? Is it a daringly bold concoction that challenges your palate, or a refreshingly smooth blend that soothes the soul? We look high and low for that perfect drink that seems to be the solution to every problem. Maybe the perfect potion does exist. Maybe it comes in the form of something unimaginable, playing with your mind. Maybe it exists at Orchard Road, in a hotel that’s wrapped in the bright lights and hustle-bustle of town. Maybe it’s in YOTEL Singapore’s in-house bar and restaurant, KOMYUNITI, who might mix your perfect fix.
KOMYUNITI welcomes a community of people (see what I did there?) seeking that escape from reality with a touch of fantasy and lots of imagination, especially in their delicious new cocktail menu, which is centred around sustainability. When 22 exquisite cocktails, including 16 new concoctions and a total of seven drinks series, exist, how can you question where you can find your fix? Especially when they’re bound to have the perfect drink for you, when their menu is tailored to all sorts of alcohol palates – whether you like your cocktails strong, light, or virgin, every drink is waiting for your exploration as it takes you to a whole new realm of discovery.
This incredible menu, which will leave you starstruck and in absolute awe, has been built with the passion and creativity of YOTEL Singapore’s F&B Manager and multi-award-winning mixologist, As’ad Isnin. In this beautiful world that he creates in his unbelievable drinks, seek refuge from the craziness of reality in these imaginative cocktails with unique ingredients and wild blends.
KOMYUNITI
KOMYUNITI is YOTEL’s own restaurant and bar, promising a unique experience every time you step foot into its humble abode. With ample dining space and a pool right next to KOMYUNITI, this place becomes a backdrop for some beautiful memories you’re bound to make.
From a co-working space in the middle for all our work-from-home warriors (equipped with many power sockets to keep you powered through the day) to meals and drinks that fuel you and create a perfect excuse to wine and dine with your loved ones (including yourself!) – you’ll be working, wining, and dining with class amid gorgeous views and vibes. On weekends, spoil yourself with some live band action, too!
We got a taste of the magic that As’ad puts into his lovely drinks and tried two stunning cocktails from their Klassic Series – KOMPLIMENT and COMIC CAFE. These might be merely two out of the gazillion potions they offer, but they are the perfect glimpse into the world KOMYUNITI has created. But I fear this review will leave you hanging for more, and you won’t be able to deny the irresistible temptation to get to KOMYUNITI right this second. Proceed… if you’re ready…
KOMPLIMENT
Say your greetings to the resident cocktail on the menu, the signature drink, and the crown jewel of YOTEL Singapore – KOMPLIMENT. It consists of butterfly-pea flower-infused gin, violet liqueur, lemon juice, artificial egg white, and Osmanthus flower—finished with a mist of hibiscus and rose for that special touch.
Everything about this drink is a treat. It’s an experience for the senses. First, your eyes lay on its gorgeous purple hue that takes your breath away. Then, as you reach for that sip, you immediately smell its floral perfume. Smells are an invigorating experience, where a familiar scent can immediately transport you to a specific memory or place. And this one takes you to a floral garden in the chill breeze of the morning or the Flower Dome at Gardens By The Bay.
As you take that sip, you taste a mesmerising mesh of flavours. You taste the tang of citrus blended perfectly with the subtle punch of the gin, accompanied by some floral notes brought on by the butterfly pea flower and Osmanthus flower. It’s a light and smooth sip that leaves you begging for more. With the gin toned down by the flowery notes yet emphasised by the citrus, this drink is perfect for any kind of alcohol palate, proving exactly why she deserves to be the signature drink.
With the unmistakable purple representing YOTEL Singapore, the floral cocktail carries the essence of the hotel. With the gin base, alcohol that no one can hate, combined with the floral energy that lures you into a dream yet refreshes you, this drink is a testament to just how perfect YOTEL is for anyone and everyone while offering you a stay that refreshes yet relaxes you. After all, mixology is more than just a drink – it’s a story waiting to be told.
COMIC CAFE
While its name sounds nothing like the drink, this one was a refreshing, fruity cocktail that completely revitalises you as soon as you take that sip. This stunner uses a gin self-infused with blueberry yoghurt (clarified), wine aperitif, and chocolate liqueur, and it is topped with lychee tea foam.
The more you drink, the more this delicious treat unravels. At first, you taste the gin in a merry marriage with the lychee tea foam. Nothing with lychee can ever disappoint, and that tea note adds so much more dimension, which makes this such a fascinating, dynamic drink. As you sip it down, the foam disappears, and the potency of the sweet, fruity gin becomes more and more apparent, with accents of the chocolate liqueur peeking through towards the middle and end of the drink.
Given that there are three types of alcohol in here, this one might be suited for those with a little heavier palate for alcohol. But the magic here lies in how every ingredient works with one another. Not only do they work hand in hand, but this was meticulously concocted to develop with every sip, which ensures you an adventure till you empty the glass of every single drop.
22 Cocktails, 7 Series – Which should you get?
When you have so many options in front of you, it’s so tough picking just one (well, why pick one!), but it’s even tougher deciding which drink is your perfect fix. All the drinks are categorised into seven series of drinks so that you can dive right into a series that calls out to your preferences – DRY (less sweet, and more spicy or citrusy), WOOD (say hello to your old-fashioned favourites!), SOBER (mocktails galore), KLASSIC (those that never go wrong), ACID (heavy on the citrus), FRUIT (fruity and sweet), and SPUMY (carbonated cocktails)!
Here are drinks from each category recommended by the F&B Manager and the incredibly talented mixologist of YOTEL Singapore, As’ad Isnin:
- DRY: VESPER – Gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc, lemon twist.
- WOOD: BARREL AGED OLD-FASHIONED – Bourbon, maple syrup, angostura bitters, aged for 21 days. (As’ad’s favourite!)
- SOBER: CALM AND GO – Giffard elderflower, chamomile tea, fresh herbs, soda.
- KLASSIC: MELLON DOWN – Japanese melon milk-washed whiskey, wine cordial, dill. (One of As’ad’s weird, yet his proudest, creations)
- ACID: NO MONEY NO HONEY – Brown butter bourbon, honey, lemon, chocolate liqueur.
- FRUIT: MANGA – Vodka, Italian herb liqueur, clarified mango puree, lime, chilli. (my mouth is watering.)
- SPUMY: FOOT PEARING – Pear & rosemary vodka, elderflower, ginger cordial, soda. (created by a bartender at YOTEL Singapore who As’ad has been training; he approves!)
As’ad Isnin
Ah, ladies and gentlemen, this man is the brain behind the new cocktail menu. When you take a quick glance through the menu and the pairings of ingredients and spirits, feel that tingling feeling in your fingertips, the butterflies in your stomach as that wave of exhilaration washes over you, wondering what to order, know that a great genius curated everything you see. My dearest reader, he is As’ad Isnin!
As’ad has been a part of YOTEL Singapore’s early days. This great man was brought in in 2018, a year after YOTEL Singapore was born, to transform the cafe that started in YOTEL into the magnificent bar we see today. From all his experience in the industry thus far, coupled with his culinary knowledge from when he studied it earlier in his career, his mixology prowess knows no bounds.
With every drink he creates, he hopes to build the tool to create memories for everyone who drinks it. He hopes his customers will leave remembering his drink, even down to the name and the story behind it, and how they felt when they had it. As such, he always tries to come up with fun and quirky names for his drinks, which, sometimes, get his customers’ attention before the actual components.
Some amazing examples are NO MONEY NO HONEY (with crazy ingredients like brown butter bourbon, honey, lemon, chocolate liqueur), KINKY PINKY and HULA WHO LAH (albeit non-alcoholic), and, my personal favourite, MARY HAS BALLS.
Mixology is all about storytelling, and each drink has a tale to share. He shared an example of a drink he once made with a wonderful memory attached to it. In his primary school days, he loved getting the packed guava slices with sour plum powder. Inspired by this undeniably delicious and uniquely Singaporean pairing, he made a drink with this concept. And with that, his memory lives on and invokes that same memory in everyone else who drinks it. This proves how powerful mixology can be when yielded by the right man.
When he’s creating a drink, he starts with lots and lots of research – he turns to the internet and the all-mighty social media to get an idea of trends and what people are looking for and then follows with countless trials and errors to experiment with concepts and flavours to bring a story to life. He also counts on his regulars for feedback, criticism, and ideas for his future creations, showing the genuine relationship he’s forged with his craft and this community he’s created within KOMYUNITI.
But when it comes to his weirdest creation ever, his grand revelation had our entire team gagged. He used blue cheese. Oh, yes. A blue cheese cocktail. When YOTEL Singapore did a challenge on social media once upon a time for As’ad to create a drink from an ingredient of their choice, they chose this funky one that has the world divided about whether they like it or abhor it. Nonetheless, he combined this with truffle oil and some citrus and birthed this savoury cocktail. He admitted it’s too much of a hassle to make this, so it’s not a part of the menu.
Another strange savoury food-inspired cocktail he’s made was one using pasta, which he said wasn’t as out-of-the-ordinary as you might think. Tomato bases aren’t uncommon in cocktails, like a Bloody Mary! But one thing that did have me shaken was that he even used pasta water for its added saltiness and savoury punch. These drinks might not be on the menu, but if you read his recommendations earlier, you’d have seen MELLON DOWN, which uses Japanese melon milk-washed whiskey, wine cordial, and dill! Try it and get a taste of As’ad’s genius yourself!
We told you As’ad is an award-winning mixologist. But his winning streak is not over yet. He and his team had sent in an application for another competition recently, Woodford Reserve The Wonderful Race, and they’ve been notified that they made it into the Top 10! From 25 bars to now the Top 10, As’ad confesses that he’s competing with younger, sharper minds and mixologists who have new perspectives and ideas, and he wants to learn from them. But we hope to see As’ad and YOTEL Singapore take the win in the final showdown in November!
We had the loveliest time at KOMYUNITI learning As’ad’s story and more about the craft of mixology that doesn’t get nearly as much credit as deserved. And now we know. The perfect potion does exist. It comes in the form of something unimaginable, playing with your mind. It exists at Orchard Road, in a hotel that’s wrapped in the bright lights and hustle-bustle of town. It’s in YOTEL Singapore’s in-house bar and restaurant, KOMYUNITI, which will mix your perfect fix.
KOMYUNITI at YOTEL Singapore
⏰Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday, 6.30am to 11pm (closes at 1am on Saturdays)
📍Address: 366 Orchard Road Level 10, YOTEL Singapore, Singapore 238904
Book your stay at YOTEL Singapore on their official website! For more information, hit up KOMYUNITI on their Instagram page and stay tuned to As’ad Isnin’s Instagram page for more about his mixology journey!
Photos by Leo Chia of the DANAMIC Team.
